BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 7, 2019) — If the Democrats hope to pry the White House from the clutching, begrudging hands of President Donald Trump in 2020, party leaders better hope that newbies such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez do not gain traction that makes them the “face of the party.” That face will only look bright to the radical left extreme of the donkey’s hind quarters. To the rest of America, Cortez will come off as attractive as the witch in Snow White and as sharp as Dopey.

Cortez — who has become famous for her dancing as a partier in college — has been in Congress a matter of days, but it’s been enough to reveal her profound naïvete of the political process. By “political process,” THE PLANET does not mean the usual slime we’ve come to expect from our alleged “representatives.” Instead, we refer to the legitimate means of power that people employ to govern themselves. It’s obvious Cortez knows little or nothing about these means.

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The latest showcase for her ignorance came when Cortez advocated a 70% tax rate on the wealthy. She would use the money to fund the Green New Deal. Let THE PLANET tell you, if there’s a new New Deal and it’s green, it won’t be verdant from health but from nausea. Picture a Grinch-like, dysentery shade. The Green New Deal is the progressives’ version of economic heaven, which bases an economy on ecology and climate change. That’s like basing a cup of coffee on turpentine.

History shows that the best way to stimulate an economy is through tax cuts.

Tax cuts put more money in people’s pockets. It’s not a gift. It’s not the government being generous, because that money is The People’s in the first place. Taxation is the government’s method of taking YOUR money, the money YOU earned. While most agree that a portion of those funds should go to the common good — Libertarians have a plan that would fund good government with zero taxes — we condemn the rapacity of today’s high taxes. If you are Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, the government (all levels) steals nearly half your pay before you can sniff the leftovers for yourself.

Tax hikes remove money from circulation. When people have more money, the rich included, they spend more, or haven’t you been paying attention to savings rates? More buying of goods and services ups demand, an increase that employers fulfill by expanding — they hire more people, make capital investments. Call this “demand-side” economics. Take money away from people, and what happens? They don’t spend. Demand for goods and services drops. Businesses lay off workers, do not invest, and in some cases shut down.

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How vital is consumer spending to our economy? The numbers show that Mary Jane and Joe’s spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With Dr. Charles Trazcinka’s indulgence, THE PLANET presents the following equation:

GDP = C + I + Gs + Nx

C represents consumer spending, I the investment by businesses in things like payroll and capital expenses, Gs is spending by the government, and Nx refers to net exports. Obviously, when you take away from the biggest chunk, the sum suffers. Even small reductions in spending can have deep affects on economic activity.

Cortez and the radical left of the Democratic Party love “vertical equity.” In this system, the more money you make, the higher your taxes. Essentially, you are punished for hard work, initiative, and enterprise. The truly fair way to tax, if there can be such a thing, is “horizontal equity,” which taxes everyone proportionately at the same rate.

The economic proposals of the Green New Dealers would ruin an economy that seems to be navigating the speed bumps and delivering the goods:

The December jobs report shows that the economy added 312,000 jobs.

Since Trump has been president, the country had added 473,000 manufacturing jobs.

Wages are outpacing inflation.

The Fed recently indicated a pause in interest rate hikes.

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Cortez and her followers showed their class over the weekend. She and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise were engaged in an e-debate on Twitter when it had to be halted after Cortez’s troops began trolling Scalise. They tastelessly referred to the 2017 violence when Scalise was among those shot by gunman James Hodgkinson while the congressman playing in a charity softball game.

“She’s got better aim that [sic] James Hodgkinson, that’s for sure,” one troll wrote. Another wrote “Snipe his ass.” Cortez made the situation worse by not apologizing or reprimanding the comments.

If the Democrats are serious about a White House bid in 2020, party leaders better deliver the message and quickly to its newbies. Foresight, in this case, is 20/20 — same as the year.

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